Chapter 191
I Solemnly Swear, That I Am Up To…
Sometimes life throws you a curveball at the exact right time, when you least expect it, but somehow still manage to take advantage of it all the same.
Smiling brightly, I couldn’t help but think of all the evil possibilities that were suddenly possible. Of all the things that I could now do. No, not just me, but the things that five of me could do at one time.
I didn’t even know how such a fortuitous opportunity dropped in my lap.
Yet, I had been given the ultimate form of freedom.
“You okay?” Zero asks, a note of concern in his voice.
“Yes.” I reply, realizing that I need to regain my composure. I mean just a moment ago, I had been trying to be a wingwoman for my dragon familiar, by hooking him up on a date with a dragon princess. Yet, on our way towards me performing three invasive surgeries on three seemingly angry cardinal protectors, I had been angry on multiple levels. First, I was angry that the nagging dragon princess would try to push herself between myself and Zero. Secondly, I was angry with myself for giving the princess so much leverage that it almost worked. Third, I was angry that despite everything Zero had not been properly rewarded for his efforts. Then fourthly, I was angry at the fact that any chance I had at sleeping before I would be expected to teach classes was taken away by these surgeries. Granted I could likely get Zero to sleep for me as a tattoo, but that meant we would not have a chance to bond, something we clearly needed.
All of that was going through my mind and filling me with apprehension.
Yet, it had all been washed away by a simple system notification.
Dear Retiree: Cassiopeia Spiritlight,
We regret to inform you that after performing a routine audit of your initial upload settings a few things were noted. First and foremost was the fact that you helped us identify a flaw in the programming logic for the system. Which ultimately meant that during the time of your initial uploading procedure you were effectively charged for 164 points in flaws (not including Blind which was a biproduct of your taking Angel’s Sight), while only being able to spend 157 of those points towards merits.
This disparity means that you need to be given a seven-point base in flaws, plus three additional points in accrued compound interest for a total of ten points that can be spent on any merit(s) you wish.
Additionally, the audit showed that your Precocious merit was actually at the highest setting of being 4 times normal speed and will now note these corrections accordingly in your status window.
Precocious (7): Learn Skills at least Twice (four times) as quickly. (Only available at character creation).
Note: This change in Merit status was done independently of any corrective actions taken or noted by you.
Please feel free to choose from the list of available merits, including but not limited to merits only available at character creation. Or let us know what you feel an appropriate ten-point merit could be? We look forward to fixing this discrepancy and hope that you continue to enjoy your retirement.
Sincerely
BiPrism Chief Administrators
Yes, they gave me carte blanche and let me choose a package that I thought would find suitable for effectively being at a detriment for the past seven years of my life.
Looking through the options, I was sort of glad I didn’t have a chance to spend these earlier as I would have likely wasted them on something that was ultimately unnecessary.
I also liked the fact that my Precocious merit seemed to accurately reflect my use of the merit. While I never found learning new things tough, I did think I learned at a rate that was slightly faster than just double what most people were capable of learning at. The fact that it was actually four times base speed helped out, as that was the apparent maximum for the merit. It also meant that I wouldn’t need to spend seven of my ten points on re-purchasing the same merit in order to increase my learning speed.
So, I had ten points in Merits. Before this only a few other Merits got to that range, most of which were my Traits that I started with, or my Angel’s Sight.
This brought up a few problems, for if I had taken the time to create my repeatable potion that would allow me to increase my number of base Traits by one, I could use the ten points to get a random extra Trait. Again, something that was completely unnecessary at the moment, as I felt I had quite a lot of Traits to use at the moment. Each of which added their own degree of capability.
No, what I needed most right now was the ability to gain anonymity when I wanted it. I spent the first seven years of my life running around like an unseen ghost wandering into places, stealing quest items and never leaving a hint of my presence in any place I went to.
Now, I had to keep perfectly still thanks to my bloodline flaws that made me stand out like a beacon.
I could feel the effect of my bloodline from both my daughter and son, who all but glowed like a torchlight to my Angel’s Sight, and magically enhanced senses. I also knew for a fact that I gave off waves of energy to even those who had no presence magically. Given the fact that my bloodline could awaken the latent magical potential in anyone I touched and this fact would seemingly become obvious. That said, I felt like there was a constant target on me. That thanks to these bloodline flaws, I was all but forced to remain good.
Not that I minded being good, but there is a stark difference between being able to be good and being forced to be good because you feel like everyone in the world is always able to spot you. The fact that I finally found a way to hide myself amongst my other Simulacrums was a small victory, but ultimately meaningless. It would always be clear that I would be one or the other of my Simulacrums, regardless of how I managed to hide myself.
That was why this opportunity was perfect.
I did notice a few things, namely the fact that I couldn’t get rid of one of my remaining flaws. While I was fairly certain that I could easily correct my vision problems by now using magic, I knew that such an endeavor would be ultimately pointless. Mainly due to the fact that I have become so used to using Angel’s Sight, that I don’t know how to operate without it. That would mean that of my remaining flaws, only Dark Horse really remained as a viable flaw to eliminate, particularly as I doubt the game would randomly Resurrect my parents to help me get rid of my Orphan flaw. Not that the Orphan flaw meant anything now that I was officially old enough to get a class and therefore unbound by the lack of a parental unit in my life.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Taking everything into consideration, it became clear to me that the main focus of this rather large appeasement was due to the company wanting to keep my Dark Horse flaw intact. Meaning that I would not be able to make money from my own feeds, which logically meant I was being used as an auxiliary source of funding due to the company effectively owning any and all feeds from not just me, but my four Simulacrums as well. Realizing that this was the case, I attempted to be as judicious as possible with my request.
At first, I went overboard, demanding the removal of the Dark Horse flaw so that I could provide revenue streaming for my remaining family members. This of course was vehemently denied, meaning that my suspicions were correct in that the company saw me as a media goldmine. I had expected as much from hearing Mallory and the others speak about me and my feeds. Apparently, even my Healing Simulacrum has a steady stream of watchers, who only watch to see the gore of healing injured spirits and traveling players. My Second Simulacrum on the two hundredth floor similarly has a following, but mainly due to the way SS interacts with the fairies who own that floor, as the ghost fairies are seen as particularly attractive. Now that I have two more Simulacrums and am clearly gearing up to do something with them all, the company wants me to accept the purchase conditions for my ten merit points quickly, so the temporary ban on my streams can be released by the governing AI that is apparently standing in as a neutral arbiter in this negotiation.
From my previous interactions on dealing with getting Unique Class specific Traits approved, I could feel the AI being in use, reading my thoughts and providing almost immediate feedback.
Which was how I ended up coming up with the absolute perfect merit.
Well, a perfect merit for me.
All ten points went towards the creation of a perfect merit. One that would forever allow me brief moments of anonymity.
The merit I ultimately got was aptly titled Confidentiality (10).
What it did was made it so, I felt I had a bit of breathing room to be me. Well, to be more me, if that is possible.
Confidentiality (10): For up to a total of three hours a day, you can interrupt your live-stream feeds from your main consciousness and all of your Simulacrums simultaneously for up to three consecutive hours. This time will reset at midnight of the location of your primary consciousness. During the time when Confidentiality is activated, all bloodline flaws denoting magical abilities and capabilities will be muted. All livestream feeds will be set to a loop of the last thirty minutes before the time frame was activated. Note: Once the time for Confidentiality is reset, all prior actions over the past three hours can be viewed from any entity, including the primary consciousness. The only discretion is that the primary consciousness of Cassiopeia Spiritlight will be able to permanently redact up to three minutes of incriminating activities per daily Confidentiality session.
Yes, with this merit I was still able to be viewed, anything I did could and would be able to be used against me. But for those three hours I would be hidden to both anyone able to see or feel magical abilities in others, and from those watching my actions and reporting them into others.
It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but it did give me the wiggle room I so desperately needed. Not that I plan on doing anything bad but knowing that I now have the ability to perform with anonymity, the same way I had been able to thanks to the Media Blackout ability that Hector got as my Thieves Guild handler made me realize that the ghost could be back in business. At the very least, it meant I could move around without fear of everyone being able to track my each and every movement.
Also, one thing I made sure to check was the fact that it wasn’t continuous, meaning that once I started, I didn’t have to use all three hours in one go. I could use it three times for an hour each, or as many times until I reached the three-hour threshold for the day. It was also worded that I could reset the timer and theoretically work six hours in a row, if I was so inclined.
Yes, just thinking about it, my mind already went towards ways to push the boundaries of what would be decent. I almost felt bad for having such thoughts, but then realized that the game all but made me a walking talking blazing inferno of magic that drew every magic users’ eyes towards her. The fact that I was now able to hide that power, if even for a few moments was priceless to me.
Which of course was why I found myself smiling brightly, as I realized I could use the power for the first time right here, while engraving different functions into the cores of Cardinal Guardians. I thought about it, and then stopped myself as I realized right now, no one knew of this change. As even Zero didn’t seem to recognize the change in me. Which made sense as it seemed that this conciliatory prize was something that was both urgent and something that would require an NDA for my silence.
Non-Disclosure Agreement: This is a legally binding agreement that states that one Cassiopeia Spiritlight will lose any and all rights to further compensation from the BiPrism world due to gross negligence of enacting the initial startup agreement between the parties. As part of the reconciliation on behalf of BiPrism for over seven years of negligence, Cassiopeia Spiritlight agrees to drop any future claims against the company from this negligence by receiving the aforementioned Confidentiality Merit (10) from the company. While Cassiopeia Spiritlight is capable of informing others that they have the newly acquired Merit, they are unable to explain where or how they gained access to the Merit in question, or the process through which the Merit was negotiated. Note: As part of Cassiopeia Spiritlight’s signing of tis NDA, she wishes to have it be so any future publications of her Status to purchasers will not include this Merit in any way, shape, form, or semblance thereof. Furthermore, any disclosure of Cassiopeia Spiritlight having gained an additional merit due to negligence of handling this information will result in an additional ten points of Merits being awarded to Cassiopeia Spiritlight, and the doubling the effectiveness of her current Merit’s abilities.
Yes, working through the mental commands necessary to sign away any chance of my being able to sue the company, or anyone being able to sue the company on my behalf was ridiculous, but it did ensure that I not only had a Merit that allowed me and all my Simulacrums to move about freely for up to three hours a day, but it also meant that if the company made the fact that I had such a merit known in any way shape or form, then not only would the Merit’s duration double, but I would gain an additional ten points to spend on Merits as well.
Honestly, I didn’t even feel ashamed at spending ten points of Merits so quickly. Especially with some of the amazing Merits that were available only at character creation that would forever be lost now that my second time at the insane list was no longer available to me. Yet, I can’t help but find myself humming excitedly as my mind begins to think about all the different events I could pull off when no one was able to know who, what, when, where, nor why I was or wasn’t at a particular place and time.
Yes, my actions would ultimately be able to be filled in after the fact, when people could watch most of my actions chronologically. That was why I was adamant that I was able to remove three minutes of time from my primary consciousness’s timeline. Three minutes is a lot of time to perform mischief. Mischief that will never be able to be linked back to me. Then I began to think about what would happen if, or hopefully when, the company leaked details of this Merit to others. Then I would be granted six hours straight, or a total of twelve hours if I worked over midnight.
“You sure you’re okay?” Zero asked.
At that I paused and looked at him, then focusing on all the Acting skills I could muster, I point out a few of the thoughts that plagued me earlier. “Actually, no.”
“No?”
“No,” I begin, pausing and stopping just as the other Cardinal Protectors are all watching from a few hundred meters away. By now we are close enough that I am certain they can hear us talking, as I can hear them with my heightened Perception Attribute, which is why I chose to stop here and have this conversation in the open. “I think these dragons are taking advantage of you.”
With that Zero straightens up and clearly looks like he is about to protest, which I cut off by holding up a placating hand.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I fully understand the appeal, as they are backwater royalty. For here, in the middle of nowhere, where nothing existed for so long, they might have been the be all and end all of power and sophistication. Yet, they are nothing when it comes to power, and you and I both know that. Heck, they all know that, as they are bound to Mallory, after all of them were beaten in combat.”
I state that, making sure to speak loudly and clearly enough that my words will carry and be heard.
I know that the Guardians can hear us, as they all seemed to grow completely still as they strain their heads and hearing to the side, as they try to take in everything I am saying.
“You don’t understand…” Zero begins.
“That’s right I don’t, and I likely never will. They are the losers in this operation. They came here as hostile forces, attempting to exert their control over the land and disrupt the natural order we were trying to establish here and then after losing, they have the audacity to demand reparations for what happened to them when we didn’t kill them?”
I pause, letting my words sink in, not only to Zero but the others.
“Don’t get me wrong, I will do this that you ask. I will take my time, my energy, and my skills, and help these royal members get just a smidge more capable. But realize I only do this because I care about you. Which is why you need to be dead certain that this girl that you like is worth it. As far as I am concerned any Karmic debt I had before this is paid in full to that Nagingah, as she can revert back to her original form, while remaining anonymous in her smaller form. Now I am going to do the same for her and her fellow Guardians, all so they can continue to mock and scold us for being charitable.” I state.
With that Zero and all four Cardinal Protectors all lower their heads at once.
Seeing that everyone heard my speech and seems properly chastised, I feel that I can finally get this over with.
“All right, then it is settled, I will do this favor for you and the Guardians. Knowing that should I once again need to interact with these Guardians in any way, shape, or form that is less than getting invited to your wedding or other joyous occasions, and I will be less than pleased.”
Zero nodded, and with that we both made our way to the completely quiet Guardians.
“Wedding? Isn’t that a bit much? I mean, I just wanted to caress a few scales at most. Maybe ruffle her fur in her Pomeranian form, nothing as serious as a royal wedding.” Zero said, speaking into my mind.
“Exactly, now they know to leave me alone until they want to get serious.” I reply back to Zero’s mind.
“Wait, what if I need your services again?”
“Then it is likely not meant to be.” I replied back, leaving off the fact that if things went to that point, I would have a very different conversation with Nagingah and her family. I would also have the perfect first chance to see what exactly I could do with complete Confidentiality engaged. As no one messed with my family, unless of course it is me messing with my family, at which point it is just me showing that I still care.